Review The Highlights of The Year
It’s a great practise to do a review of the year, and December is the perfect time to do it. In this article, I will talk about how to review and reflect on what has gone well, and what you want to continue with next year.
Start with the highlights first! This creates a positive feeling from the start of the process: you are looking at what went well first. Having a glass-half-full attitude is natural to some people, but we can create this mindset with tricks like this. Make a list of all of the positive things from this year. You might be surprised how many you can find when you review the year this way.
Reflect on What Has Gone Well
Once you have your list, it’s time to reflect on why these things went well. Was it because of the effort you put in, or was it luck? If it was luck, what did you do to create that opportunity for yourself? Did you have to be somewhere or do something to be that lucky?
Review What You Want More and Less of Next Year
Looking at your year, which of these habits, routines or experiences do you want more of? How can you ensure that this will happen?
Consider what you need to do in order for you to enjoy the same successes in the year ahead. Think about what you want to let go of, or have less of in the coming year. Are there decisions you need to make, conversations you need to have or can you simply change something? Allow yourself to dream and use words and images to express those ideas. the more you allow those ideas to grow and breathe, the more chance they have of coming to life.
Plans and Goals for Next Year
The next stage after reviewing is the part where you get to dream and create. I love using journals and vision boards to help me express my desires and dreams for the year ahead. I create a vision board each year in Canva, which is an easy to use design tool. If you would like some inspiration or a template to adapt, I would recommend something like desygner.com.
These tools can allow you to communicate more easily with your unconscious mind. The conscious and unconscious parts can work well together when they have a means of communication, like a vision board or a journal.
When you have some ideas and plans in place, it can be useful to firm up on dates. You can plot these dates onto a calendar or a yearly planner which is a further visual tool. Going forwards, I recommend blocking out half an hour every month to do a monthly review which means you can make adjustments for the months ahead.
If you are feeling lost, or are looking to make big changes, get in touch. You can apply for an Introductory Consultation by booking a time on my calendar here.
